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ScorecardKhurram Manzoor was the star for Pakistan A with 113•Chris Whiteoak

Pakistan A kept the series against England Lions alive, securing a 17-run victory in Dubai with a late surge in the field after England had appeared on track. Khurram Manzoor’s 113 anchored Pakistan A’s total of 288 for 5, but with James Vince responding with a century of his own England were well placed on 194 for 2 in the 36th over only to subside and lose their last five wickets for 13.Vince and Sam Billings (51) had added for the third wicket when Billings was bowled by Fakhar Zaman. England were still on course as Vince reached his century off 117 deliveries, but when he was run out trying for a second to long leg the innings went into free-fall.Mohammad Nawaz, who had claimed Daniel Bell-Drummond, a replacement for the ill Dawid Malan, at the start of the chase, then removed Joe Clarke and Ross Whiteley – a player capable of quickly hunting down a target – and the requirement became too much for the lower order. Liam Dawson ran out of partners and was the last man out for 41.Earlier, Manzoor had helped give Pakistan A the solid foundation they had been lacking the previous two matches. A second-wicket stand of 100 with Fakhar (51) was the basis for their total although again England’s spinners – Dawson and Tom Westley – did a good job to ensure the scoreboard did not race away.Manzoor, who has played 16 Tests and seven ODIs, reached his hundred off 121 balls; unlike Vince’s century, which included just six boundaries, Manzoor struck 11 fours and three sixes by the time he fell to Tom Curran. Fawad Alam and Zohaib Khan finished the innings with a stand of 37 off 27 deliveries.

Scorecard

Geoffrey Boycott would have approved of it: dour batting by Yorkshire against quality seam bowling in helpful conditions, with only one wicket falling in two hours play. Nottinghamshire’s four-man seam attack bowled 30 overs and the hosts made it to 51 for 1, with Michael Vaughan on 25 and Anthony McGrath on 14.It was a surprise that Yorkshire chose to bat against the only other Division One team to win a match so far this season, but their batsmen performed creditably in the best Yorkshire tradition. Most pleasing would be the innings of Vaughan, who had survived for 81 balls at the close.The sun shone early on, which meant that play on a damp outfield started after an early lunch, but more rain fell before tea and forced a premature end. Importantly for Yorkshire they only lost one wicket, that of Joe Sayers, who made 9 off 72 balls. Slow it may have been, but it was an intriguing battle.The main points of interest were the batting of Vaughan and the bowling of his England team-mate and former county colleague Ryan Sidebottom, although they rarely came up against each other. Sidebottom moved the ball away from the left-hander Sayers, tying him down with seven consecutive maidens and the batsman only got off strike with a leg-bye in the last.Vaughan mostly handled the bowling of Charlie Shreck and was off the mark secondball, with a neat dab for three past gully. He was beaten several times, but broke through every now and then with strokes of pure class, such as when he flicked Shreck past square leg for four and then drove the next ball to the cover boundary.He ruined Sidebottom’s opening figures with two more boundaries – an edge through the slips and a classic extra-cover drive – leaving Sidebottom with 8-7-9-0. Vaughan did at times show impatience at being tied down, flashing on a couple of occasions, but Sayers was the one who fell, playing on to Mark Ealham with the total at 32.Stuart Broad, in his first championship match for his new county, also bowled well, getting lift as well as movement. His seven overs cost 14 but he was unable to make a breakthrough.There was a brief and unusual interruption at one stage when a fox seemingly thought it was required as a substitute fielder, straying onto the outfield before disappearing as mysteriously as it had come. Presumably it had been wearing a media pass, or else the gatekeepers had been lax in allowing it in without paying. Perhaps they thought it a costume-day participant who had got his Test dates mixed up.Sidebottom had just returned for a second spell before tea when bad light closed in, quickly followed by rain, and the day’s play was over. More of the same on the second day may frustrate fans who have become used to Twenty20, but it will be strongly competitive in the best traditions of the northern game.

Given that this is the eve of the Old Trafford Test match, England’s captain Michael Vaughan might have preferred to be concentrating on such matters as personal preparation and team selection. Instead he was being forced to justify his controversial comments earlier this week, when he seemed to lay the blame for England’s World Cup disaster at the feet of his colleague and team bon viveur, Andrew Flintoff.Whatever the motives or otherwise behind Vaughan’s “despicable” comments (as they were branded by Jim Cumbes, the Lancashire chief executive), Flintoff will not be on hand to provide his own riposte – except when the pair sit down for a peace-making lunch today. Last week he underwent his third bout of ankle surgery in as many years, and could yet be missing for the entire summer. But despite the furore, Vaughan said his position with the rest of the England team hadn’t been affected. “The team looked at it and laughed,” he said. “We’ve all been very honest about our own performances at the World Cup and they didn’t make that article. It hasn’t affected our preparations at all.”For what it’s worth, the saga has distracted from what is otherwise a pretty unappetizing contest. Last week at Headingley, West Indies were routed by a record margin of an innings and 283 runs. This week they are still facing up to the loss of their captain, Ramnaresh Sarwan, who has flown home after damaging his shoulder in a fielding accident. In fact, England are so confident of a series-sealing victory that on Sunday, they took the unusual step of naming not only their squad of 12 but an unchanged starting 11, with Ryan Sidebottom rightly retained after his matchwinning eight-wicket haul.It’s a dismal state of affairs. West Indies were once the biggest drawcard in the game, but now their decline seems nothing short of terminal. Daren Ganga, Sarwan’s replacement as captain, spoke of his pride as he prepared to lead the region for the first time, but no-one truly believed him when he insisted his side were still in with a chance in the series.

Everywhere this current squad turns, there are memories of their predecessors to haunt them – from the giant replay screens that delight in showing footage of former series, via the omnipresent Brian Lara, through to the luminaries lined up to pass judgment from the commentary boxes. “Brian spoke to us before the first Test, and I had discussions with Desmond Haynes, Viv Richards, Michael Holding and Ian Bishop,” said Ganga. “The former players giving their advice to the team, that’s very important. All the younger players need a role model and some guidance apart from the coaching staff.”It’s very difficult to compare eras in terms of players,” said Ganga. “We have a great legacy as a West Indian people, a West Indian team and we understand that as players but a lot more than that is necessary to move forward.” But quite how they hope to move forward is less obvious. Although the team has been boosted by the return of Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who missed the Headingley match with a knee injury, they have been badly hindered by a stomach injury to their most potent remaining player, Chris Gayle, who is likely to play as a batsman but may not be able to bowl his offspin.If that happens, then Marlon Samuels, Sarwan’s replacement in the squad, could be parachuted into the middle order, but it’ll take something special for West Indies – who were bowled out twice at Headingley in less than a full day’s play – to survive on an Old Trafford pitch that is green, hard and expected to be lively. “We didn’t deal with the English conditions well and we need to adapt better,” said Ganga. “We need to think about the process of partnerships, the process of bowling in partnerships and the process of creating chances for us to get 20 wickets. The series is not beyond us. A lot of people have written us off but cricket is played on the field.”Given the popgun nature of their new-ball attack, West Indies are likely to trade one of their job-a-day seamers – probably Jerome Taylor (for all that he took a five-for against MCC at Durham) – and opt for the extra pace of Fidel Edwards. But either way, they will be hard-pressed to restrain an England batting line-up that has helped itself to seven centuries in just three innings of this series. They have shown neither the accuracy to contain, nor the incisiveness to dismiss, and England have declared in every innings they have played.Aside from the embarrassment that could be headed Vaughan’s way when he leads his team out in front of Flintoff’s Lancashire faithful, there’s little cause for unease in the England camp. Steve Harmison showed glimpses of a return to form when he wrapped up West Indies’ tail at Headingley, and the arrival of Allan Donald could just provide the spark of confidence that has been missing from his game ever since the departure of England’s former bowling guru, Troy Cooley.Harmison memorably grabbed 11 wickets in his last Test at Old Trafford, against Pakistan last summer, and a similar display this week would enable his captain to become England’s most successful leader of all time, overhauling the record of 20 that he currently shares with Peter May. And if that happens, then even the Lancashire boo-boys might afford him a grudging cheer.England 1 Andrew Strauss, 2 Alastair Cook, 3 Michael Vaughan (capt), 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Paul Collingwood, 6 Ian Bell, 7 Matt Prior (wk), 8 Liam Plunkett, 9 Ryan Sidebottom, 10 Steve Harmison, 11 Monty Panesar.West Indies (probable) 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Daren Ganga (capt), 3 Devon Smith, 4 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 5 Marlon Samuels, 6 Runako Morton, 7 Dwayne Bravo, 8 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 9 Daren Powell, 10 Corey Collymore, 11 Fidel Edwards.

Scorecard and ball by ball details
How they were out

At a venue that has traditionally been a West Indian citadel, their pace bowlers brought back memories of the long-gone glory years with some menacing, incisive and disciplined bowling that left India in disarray after they had elected to bat first. Jerome Taylor evoked Jamaican legends like Michael Holding with a consummate display that fetched him figures of 5 for 50. Only a magnificent 81 from the redoubtable Rahul Dravid, and a typically gritty 45 from Anil Kumble, spared India more ignominy as they were bowled out for just 200.Corey Collymore, whose love affair with Sabina Park continues, was the unfailingly accurate tourniquet, while Taylor was the blast from the past, discomfiting every batsmen with searing pace and variations in line and length. In an exceptional burst during the second session, he beat both Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif for pace, and only Dravid’s tremendous technique and obduracy prevented abject humiliation.Pedro Collins had started the slide as early as the third ball, as Virender Sehwag played one off his legs for Ramnaresh Sarwan to pouch an outstanding reflex catch. Unfortunately for Sarwan, a meaty pull from Wasim Jaffer then struck him just below the left knee, prompting lengthy attention and a stretcher off the field. By then, India had already had a reprieve, with VVS Laxman edging a Collins delivery just short of Chris Gayle at slip.Collins continued to beat the bat with angled deliveries, but it was Taylor’s turn to celebrate next when Jaffer was too late to bring his bat down. The crowd loved what was once a common sight – a West Indian fast bowler in full flow, and a batsman looking back to see his stumps splayed.There was to be no collapse in the wake of that though. Dravid came in and was right away into straight-dead-bat mode, and with Laxman also in a defensive shell against some top-notch bowling, the scoreboard operator could put his feet up and snooze. Collymore’s introduction, after Taylor and Collins had combined for 12 overs that cost eight runs, ratcheted up the excitement but Brian Lara’s failure to hold on to an edge off Laxman’s bat rather dampened the spirits.It took 19 overs for the first four of the innings – a Dravid push down the ground off Dwayne Bravo – and apart from a delicate Laxman glide down to third man, that was as good as it would get when it came to aggressive intent in the first session.Laxman, who had struck a superb century in the last Test, resumed after lunch with a peachy on-drive off Bravo, but a dart outside off stump then sent him on his way. Yuvraj Singh, who replaced him, promised much, with a couple of splendid flicks through the on side and a gorgeous back-foot square-drive off Bravo, but Taylor’s return signalled the end of that particular purple patch.The perfect yorker dismissed Yuvraj, and there was twice the injury with the bruised foot forcing him to limp off. In his wake came Mohammad Kaif, who appeared to be auditioning for a role in the remake of . The sharp bounce off a good length had him in all sorts of bother, and he was extremely fortunate to see Daren Ganga tip over an edge to gully.

But Taylor was far from finished, consistently clocking near 90mph. After Kaif had struck notes of defiance with a fluid cover-drive and a powerful pull, the lethal weapon – the perfume ball – delivered the inevitable breakthrough. By the time a Dravid edge fell just short of Runako Morton, the substitute fielder, India were on the ropes. Collymore then sent them one step closer to the canvas, as an irresponsible cut from Mahendra Singh Dhoni only delighted the slip cordon.Kumble sparked the revival with some trademark deflections to the third man fence and the heart of a fighter. Dravid cut and drove Gayle for four to ease past 50, and as the shadows lengthened, the pitch appeared to be easing out. Lara tried Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s legspin, but neither Dravid nor Kumble was remotely fazed by it, and it was left to the pace bowlers to halt the 93-run recovery.Bravo accounted for Kumble, and after the new ball had been taken in the 82nd over, Collymore and Taylor dealt the final blows. A beautiful delivery from Collymore ended Dravid’s 215-ball resistance, and Taylor saw off S Sreesanth and Munaf Patel before wheeling away to savour what could be the first of many five-wicket hauls. On a day exemplified by his 95mph yorker to Kumble, who somehow kept it out, it was only fitting that Taylor had the last word.How they were outIndiaVirender Sehwag c Sarwan b Collins 0 (1 for 1)
Wasim Jaffer b Taylor 1 (3 for 2)
VVS Laxman c sub (Morton) b Bravo 18 (34 for 3)
Yuvraj Singh lbw Taylor 19 (58 for 4)
Mohammad Kaif c Lara b Taylor 13 (78 for 5)
Mahendra Singh Dhoni c Bravo b Collymore 3 (91 for 6)
Anil Kumble b Bravo 45 (184 for 7)
Rahul Dravid c Ramdin b Collymore 81 (197 for 8)
S Sreesanth b Taylor 0 (200 for 9)
Munaf Patel c Ramdin b Taylor 0 (200 all out)

Latest points tables

Group A

Ireland will have to wait until Thursday to secure a place in the 2007 World Cup after all three ICC Trophy Ireland 2005 Group A matches were washed out. No play was possible between Ireland and USA at Waringstown so Ireland need one more point from their final game against Denmark at Bangor to be certain of qualification. It will, though, take a major upset for Ireland to miss out on either first or second place in Group A. They go into the final round of games with a two point advantage over both Denmark and Bermuda and a significantly superior net run rate. Denmark and Bermuda both have five points while Uganda and United Arab Emirates remain in contention on three points ahead of the decisive matches. But for the USA, the washout means that they cannot qualify for the World Cup and face an ignominious exit from an event they should have been playing a major part in.

Group B

Three teams will be contesting the top two places in Group B on Thursday after Canada sealed a dramatic two-wicket victory over Holland. Canada’s win leaves them level with Holland on six points while Scotland lead the group with eight points. In the final round of matches Holland will play Scotland at Stormont while Canada faces Papua New Guinea at Downpatrick.Canada’s third tight win of the tournament came with one ball to spare. They were chasing a revised target of 160 in 30 overs after Holland amassed 187 in 35 rain-affected overs. With Canada captain John Davison the first of Billy Stelling’s five victims it was left to opening partner Desmond Chumney to lead the chase. Chumney’s valuable contribution kept his side in touch with the run rate but when he was dismissed for 64 the momentum swung in Holland’s favour.Three more wickets fell for only 14 runs but valuable lower-order runs from Don Maxwell and George Codrington helped Canada edge to an essential victory. If Holland had won, it would have guaranteed its place in the semi-finals along with Scotland, who beat Namibia. Instead both Holland and Scotland sides go into their final match with everything to play for.Scotland beat Namibia by 27 runs in a match that was reduced to 33 overs-a-side. Ryan Watson was instrumental to the victory, taking advantage of the short boundaries to hit 87 of Scotland’s 236 runs. Namibia were always in contention during the reply but to keep up with the run-rate their batsmen were forced to take chances. Nine of the ten wickets fell to catches as they were all out with 11 balls remaining.Papua New Guinea claimed their first victory of the tournament, bowling out Oman for 41 to win by 93 runs in a match that was reduced to 24 overs.The final round of six group games takes place on Thursday.

The Standard Bank Pro20 series, which is at its halfway stage, has received an overwhelming support from the crowds. Fans are thoroughly enjoying the thrilling entertainment and action of the shortened version of the game and are coming out in large numbers to support the newly formed franchise teams.In the eight matches so far, a total of 70,326 spectators have come through the turnstiles, with the 18,221 who watched the Nashua Dolphins defeat the Highveld Lions at the Wanderers on April 16 being the biggest crowd. The average attendance of 8,820 is an indication of the interest that these matches have generated.Gerald Majola, the CEO of the UCB, said that they had always expected this tournament to generate a large amount of interest. “These are very encouraging numbers. We had every confidence that Standard Bank Pro20 Series would be a great success, and these figures indicate that our confidence has been justified. Entertainment for all has been the key both on and off the field, and it has been wonderful to see the large number of families and young fans enjoying the razzmatazz on and off the field.”All but two of the matches have ended in the last over, with the winning runs in three games being scored in the final over. A total of 2303 runs have being scored in 313.4 overs, at a rate of 7.3 per over, including 51 sixes.

Burridge’s worst fears have been confirmed by Zimbabwe’s selection of all-rounder Gary Brent in their squad for the One-Day International Cricket Series against England and South Africa this summer.The recently relegated Southern Electric Premier League club have signed up Brent to boost their prospects of an immediate return to Division 1.But Brent’s call up for the triangular ODI Series against England and South Africa means the 27-year old all-rounder will not now be playing for them in the Premier League.”I had a chat with Gary about the situation last night and he’s confirmed he won’t now be flying to the UK until June 6,” explained Burridge skipper Roger Cawte.”Zimbabwe have a quite a few 4-day matches lined up before they play the two Tests against England at Lord’s and in Durham, and we initially assumed Gary wouldn’t be involved in them.”We thought Zimbabwe coach Geoff Marsh would want him playing over here and experiencing English conditions, but the risk of injury was too great and now it seems he won’t be joining us at all.it’s all very much up in the air at the moment,” he added.Brent, 27, has played four Tests and 39 ODIs for Zimbabwe since 1996.But missed out on selection for the recent World Cup tournament in South Africa.Burridge are now working on a contingency plan, but are unlikely to make an annoucement about Brent’s would-be successor until after the Easter weekend.”We’ll keep our options open, but obviously we’d all like to see Gary back at Burridge, where he’s had three previously successful seasons in the past,” Cawte added.

New Zealand’s World Cup-winning CLEAR White Ferns return to the scene of their triumph, Bert Sutcliffe Oval, this weekend to continue the re-building phase the side has undergone.With 20 One-Day Internationals and a Test match against India during the next eight months, not to forget the status of world champion to be defended, there is a programme as full as any in a non-World Cup year for the New Zealanders.The three-day camp will be the fourth of the winter and will concentrate on the game plans to be employed on New Zealand’s tour to India in November-December.The prospect of playing on pitches, lower, slower and grassless, will see conditions simulated at the High Performance Centre, much as they were before New Zealand’s A team went to India last year.Coach Mike Shrimpton also has to unravel some historical batting strategies.For generations it seems New Zealand’s women players have been discouraged from playing the sweep shot to spinners.”It hasn’t been encouraged in the past. It seems to have been considered a dangerous, and high-risk, shot.”But in the modern game you have to break up fields and we need to be able to create more leg-side scoring opportunities so that we can score all around the wicket,” Shrimpton said.Players have been on individual build-up programmes for the tour and at the weekend emphasis will be on players using their feet to create the length of the bowling and on that troublesome sweep shot.There had been something of a lull for players after their CricInfo World Cup euphoria. Several players had gone straight into the domestic State Insurance Cup competition and had taken time to perform to their best.Shrimpton, who worked the squad very hard last winter, especially on fielding skills which ultimately proved the difference in New Zealand’s Cup bid, said he recognised that the commitment over the winter had resulted in some mental tiredness once the job had been done.”We did ask a lot of them in the build-up and it was very demanding. But they have had a sizeable break to freshen up,” he said.Only Haidee Tiffen and Paula Flannery have been overseas during the winter. Tiffen has been playing in England and Flannery coaching in Switzerland.The other vital reason for New Zealand putting so much into their preparation is replacing players like Debbie Hockley, Catherine Campbell, Katrina Keenan and Clare Nicholson, who are all no longer available for the national side.Wellington’s Anna Corbin, and Central Districts’ Aimee Mason and Erin McDonald are the contenders to fill the spinning berths and Shrimpton is delighted with the work they have been putting in. McDonald has been attempting to straighten out her bowling action which was called into question during the World Cup.Shrimpton said they offer complementary skills, with Mason especially having some quality batting skills.The side which leaves on November 22 has three warm-up matches in India, and then faces India in five ODIs and a four-day Test at Jamshedphur before returning to New Zealand on December 23.A home and away series with Australia will then be played while in June-July next year there is an ODI tour to the Netherlands, England and Ireland.”We’ve gone from a famine to a feast,” Shrimpton said of the programme the White Ferns now enjoy.

Match facts

Monday, October 5Start time 9.30am local (0730GMT)Pakistan have slipped to No. 9 in the ODI rankings – if they had been No. 9 three days ago, they would not have qualified for the Champions Trophy•AFP

The Big Picture It scarcely seemed possible after their crushing defeat in the first ODI, but Zimbabwe will go into the third match focused on what could be their first one-day series win over a top 10 side other than Bangladesh for more than 14 years. To do that, though, they’ll have to fire on all cylinders against a Pakistan side who will feel that the momentum was on their side before the inclement weather tipped Saturday’s game in Zimbabwe’s favour.Zimbabwe remain perennial underdogs and though they wobbled noticeably in the face of Shoaib Malik’s death-defying brilliance, they showed during the second ODI what they are capable of as a team when it all clicks. Zimbabwe didn’t lose any wickets to spin in the second match, after losing all 10 to the slow men in the first. Top order runs, a lower order blast, early wickets, and inspired fielding were all on show. But on the flip side of that, there was also the omnishambles of the late afternoon where it all threatened to fall apart, and inconsistency of performance is still a problem for the hosts.Pakistan, on the other hand, have been consistent in both their successes and failures during their trip to Southern Africa. In every match their top order has failed, their lower middle has rallied, and their bowlers have kept them in the game. Their defeat on Saturday means Pakistan have slipped to No. 9 in the ODI rankings – if they had been No. 9 three days ago, they would not have qualified for the Champions Trophy. Though these two teams are now slightly closer in the ICC’s one-day rankings, and despite Zimbabwe’s strong team performance to level the series, once again Pakistan start as favourites.

Form guide

(Last five completed matches, most recent first)Zimbabwe WLLLW
Pakistan LWLWW

In the spotlight

After spending months as a specialist batsman, circumstances dictated that Elton Chigumbura should return to his traditional allrounder role in the second match. He quickly shook off what rust may have coated his bowling arm and contributed roundly to Zimbabwe’s success with a wicket, a catch, a run-out and a half-century earlier in the day. He’ll want to lead from the front in the decider, and if his top order gives him a platform, his devastating batting could be the difference between ignominy and a historic series win.Shoaib Malik has been the calm centre of a combustible Pakistan middle order on this tour, and every time he has arrived at the crease, his team has been in trouble. He top-scored in the opening T20, and though he failed in the second, he made an all-round contribution to the visitors’ win in the first ODI. He very nearly sealed the series on Saturday and, given the way that match ended, Malik will be out to prove a point on Monday.

Team news

Zimbabwe stuck with the same XI in the second ODI, but they face an enforced change in the series decider. Graeme Cremer’s ankle injury has all but ruled him out, and the most obvious replacement for him is legspinning allrounder Tino Mutumbodzi. Though he dropped a crucial catch, Mutumbodzi was generally an electric presence in the field and his run-out of Mohammad Hafeez was vital to Zimbabwe’s eventual success. While Hamilton Masakadza has looked out of sorts in this series, his place is probably still safe and the only other reserve batsman in the side is Malcolm Waller. Zimbabwe (possible): 1 Chamu Chibhabha, 2 Hamilton Masakadza, 3 Brian Chari, 4 Sean Williams, 5 Elton Chigumbura (capt), 6 Sikandar Raza, 7 Richmond Mutumbami (wk), 8 Tino Mutombodzi, 9 Luke Jongwe, 10 Tinashe Panyangara, 11 John Nyumbu.Pakistan’s changes for the second match didn’t quite work out – debutant Bilal Asif held his own with the ball without ever really threatening and was unconvincing with the bat, while Asad Shafiq was an anonymous presence. Given Imad Wasim’s current form with both bat and ball, Pakistan will want him back and the visitors may well revert to the XI that crushed Zimbabwe so effectively in the first match. Pakistan (possible): 1 Azhar Ali (capt), 2 Ahmed Shehzad, 3 Mohammad Hafeez, 4 Shoaib Malik, 5 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 6 Mohammad Rizwan, 7 Imad Wasim, 8 Aamer Yamin, 9 Yasir Shah, 10 Wahab Riaz, 11 Mohammad Irfan.

Pitch and conditions

After a series of slow, low turners during this tour, the pitch used in the second ODI was more what one might term a good cricket wicket. With a little grass left on the track, Pakistan’s spinners weren’t quite as menacing but it still offered something to bowlers of all types and also made strokeplay a little easier. HSC head groundsman Fungai Shanganya will probably aim for something similar in the decider. Monday will definitely start off sunny and warm, and though there is no rain predicted, once the rainy season arrives in Zimbabwe one can never be quite sure when and where a thunderstorm will appear.

Stats and trivia

• Malik has averaged 93.20 in the ten ODIs he has played since his international return earlier in the year. He has made 466 runs including one century and three fifties. Malik averages 43.61 with the bat and 21.00 with the ball in one-day internationals against Zimbabwe.
• Wahab Riaz is Pakistan’s leading wicket-taker in ODIs this year. He’s picked up 29 wickets at 23.75 in 15 matches.
• The last time Zimbabwe won a one-day series over a team other than Bangladesh, Ireland or Kenya was against New Zealand in January 2001. Heath Streak was their hero on a sunny afternoon in Auckland, his runs and wickets helping Zimbabwe to their maiden away one-day series win.

Quotes

Shoaib Malik defends Pakistan’s top order, many of whom have been dismissed playing big shots in this series.Zimbabwe coach Dav Whatmore has been very pleased with Brian Chari’s development since his ODI debut.

The Indian Premier League has leading England players in its sights, according to its chairman, Lalit Modi, and is prepared to look at its future dates to accommodate them.Speaking to the BBC, Modi said: “I know a lot of them are interested but we don’t want to conflict with the English season. If that means we have to move our matches a few weeks in advance, we would be happy to do that to accommodate the English players. We would like to see a lot of the English players in the IPL but I cannot commit to them until the ECB actually finds a window and clears them.”Modi has said several times over the past month that English players were interested, and his latest comments seem to be a response to Giles Clarke, the England board (ECB) chairman, who said at the weekend that no English-qualified players could be poached by the IPL. “We have a contract with the BCCI [Indian board] … in that contract, they’re not allowed to take any English players of any kind to play in IPL if there is no No Objection Certificate. The IPL will not play any player who has not received an NOC.”Modi has maintained that the IPL will work with the England board, although earlier this month he suggested that the ECB might “move their season back by a few weeks … then we can have a window. It would be a win-win situation for everybody.”That idea, aside from the meteorological issues, left Clarke distinctly unimpressed. “We are not interested in people playing in the IPL,” he said. “The IPL is a domestic competition and we’re not going to alter our season for a domestic season in another country.”Modi is aware he has to be careful. While as chairman of the IPL he can say what he wants, he has to balance that position with his role as vice-president of the Indian board.The IPL is already impacting on England with several overseas players preferring to play in it rather than start the season with their counties. And while only one England player – Dimitri Mascarenhas – has signed, it has been announced that five of the New Zealand squad for the tour which starts in five weeks will miss two warm-up games because of their IPL commitments.Clarke has maintained that the large sums of money on offer are still not enough to tempt the best in his country. “I don’t think the rewards being talked about are particularly ones England players would be interested in,” he said. “Should any player give up his English contract he would, of course, risk losing his England place. We play international cricket during the time the IPL is on and most players don’t want to lose their international place.”Asked about Mascarenhas, Clarke made clear his position. “As far as the ECB was concerned it was entirely a matter for his employer. Hampshire are taking a serious risk, which they acknowledge, that Mascarenhas might get injured while playing in the IPL and be out for the whole English summer.”One England player who might sign, Modi hinted, is Steve Harmison. Although he has a central contract, it appears increasingly unlikely that will be renewed after a string of substandard performances led to him being dropped from the side in New Zealand.The signs are that the relative harmony that has so far existed between the IPL and the ECB could start to be tested in the coming months as the IPL’s desire to sign up as many of the leading stars grows. That, in turn, could test the relationship between the board and its contracted players.